TheBridge profile: Brady Kriss
Name: Brady Kriss
Current city: San Francisco, CA
Current job: Executive Director, Ragtag
Past job: Community Lead
Q. Favorite spot for a coffee meeting? Muddy’s at 24th
Q. Describe one way a skill you learned in a previous job helped you in your current job. I used to be a practicing attorney, and I spent a lot of time translating from tech-speak to lawyer-speak. Now I translate from tech to organizer (and back). There’s a lot of overlap. You need to listen carefully, not jump to conclusions, ask the right questions, and think 800 steps down the chain of possible events in order to make the right recommendation. Organizing is a profession just as complicated and specific as law, and the translation skills are just as vital. The biggest difference is that organizers, on the whole, are less likely than lawyers to be total assholes.
Q. Job advice in three words? Take a break
Q. How are you (or your company, org, nonprofit) currently bridging the gap between politics and tech? Ragtag is making it easier for tech folks to get involved in campaigns, non-profits, and politics in general, and to offer up their specific technical skills. We’re bridging the (pretty wide) gap by teaching tech folks about organizing and campaigning, which actually makes the techs’ volunteer work better for the orgs they work with. We’re also helping campaigns and non-profits level-up their tech with some seriously skilled volunteers who build to meet the actual needs of the campaigns.
Q: Embarrassing work moment? Once I emailed a coworker to express my exasperation with another coworker. I’m sure I used some colorful language. As it turns out, the coworker I emailed had been presenting to the whole department, including higher ups, when he got the notification of my email, including the preview text with the afore mentioned colorful language. People: please turn off notifications on your computer before you plug into a projector!!
Q: Favorite App? My favorite app and my way to unwind are the same: I just got a new iPad with Procreate and a Pencil. I’ve taken to drawing terrible still-lifes of household objects.
Q: Morning Routine: Somehow, coffee appears in my hand, and I drink it. Slowly the world becomes un-foggy. I read twitter, which is never a good idea, and then I start working.
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